The GFX 100 II now drops to ISO 80 instead of 100 to further increase dynamic range. All of this allows photographers to get creative with RAW photos or tease out details from highlights and shadows.
It’s not bad at high ISOs either, thanks to the sensor’s backlighting and dual-gain design. Very little noise is visible at ISO 6400, and photos are usable up to ISO 12800 if the exposure is correct.
A medium format sensor offers an incredibly shallow depth of field when needed for portrait photography. Combined with a fast lens like the 80mm f/1.7, it allows for incredible bokeh and subject separation.
For those who prefer to use JPEGs straight out of the camera, it delivers color-accurate images with the perfect amount of in-camera sharpening. It’s ideal for previews or those looking to use Fujifilm’s impressive film simulation modes. For the GFX 100 II, Fujifilm introduced a new one called Reala Ace, based directly on one of their older negative films. Rich, rich and with a hint of nostalgia, it has become one of my new favourites.
There is one quality issue – the GFX 100 II effectively drops from 16-bit to 14-bit when shooting bursts of 8 frames per second to reduce bandwidth. This isn’t a huge problem in and of itself, but Fujifilm was sloppy about how they marketed it, and it rubbed a lot of professional photographers the wrong way.
Video
I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the X100 II is also Fuji’s best medium format camera for video. It has many new modes, especially 8K. It also offers 6K, 4K/60p and 1080p at 240fps. All of these formats can be captured in 12-bit ProRes, along with 10-bit H.265 formats. You also get access to Fujifilm’s excellent F-Log2 shooting, which boosts dynamic range.
However, there are some serious trade-offs. 8K shoots with a 1.53x crop, which reduces the effective sensor size to less than full frame – negating one of the main advantages of medium format: shallow depth of field. Other resolutions use the full sensor width, but pixel stacking reduces sharpness.
Shutter spread is also a problem at 8K, so make sure you don’t move the camera too much at this resolution. This is less of a concern at 4K resolutions, likely due to pixel stacking.
All that aside, the video from the GFX100 II has a different quality than I’ve seen from most mirrorless cameras. The larger sensor makes it cinematic, especially with some of Fujifilm’s prime lenses. And 8K video is extremely sharp when downscaled to 4K in DaVinci Resolve.
Indeed, video is more of a nice feature for casual use, as most buyers will certainly use it for photography.
Collection
The $7,500 GFX100 II is an impressive medium format camera that’s improved in every area over the previous model. More importantly, what would my professional photographer friends think and would they buy it? “Most notable is the evolution of autofocus compared to the GFX100,” he said. Nathanael Charpentier. “In our studio, we usually work with Sony, and the GFX100 II autofocus is still far from Sony’s level, but it’s a big improvement.
“It’s not a sports camera, it doesn’t have a super fast burst rate. This is more for studio portrait work. For some types of ‘reportage’, like candid wedding shots, if we need the extra dynamic range offered by a medium format camera, I can use it.” At this point, they don’t plan to buy it because of the high price (and because they only put 6,000 euros). For A9 III), but is high on the list of future hardware purchases.
Its main competitor is the $8,200 Hasselblad X2D 100C, which has perhaps slightly better color science and image quality—while also carrying some prestige with the Hasselblad name. However, the GFX100 II excels in many other respects, including speeds, autofocus and video. If you need to achieve autofocus in really busy or difficult situations, full-frame is still the best choice: Sony’s 45MP $6500 A1 or Nikon’s $3800 Z8 or $5500 Z9 (both 45MP) are better is a choice.
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